Parents want answers after Chinatown 'sucker-punch' puts son in coma

The parents of an Ewa Beach man want answers after he was knocked unconscious by a stranger in Chinatown.

It happened outside of Bar 35 early Saturday morning.

Carter Pike, 27, was out drinking with some friends and was on his way home when he was allegedly sucker punched.

He was rushed to the hospital and has been in a coma ever since.

His parents flew in from California.

"He had a hematoma from hitting the ground so hard and a bunch of stitches and super deep gash," said Dede Westgaard-Pike, Carter's mother.

"I don't know if it was a 'macho puff up the chest punch someone because you're cool' kind of thing, but it's not cool," added Matthe Pike, Carter's father. "It is life-threatening. Our son is lying in a coma."

Carter Pike is from Kona and moved to Oahu a couple years ago.

He works at the Four Seasons in Ko Olina.

After following up with witnesses, the Pikes say they tracked down the alleged attacker on Facebook. They say he apologized for his actions.

"He sent me messages saying 'I'm so sorry, I'm not like that, this is not the kind of person I am,'" said Matthe Pike. "I told him, 'I appreciate your words, but please know you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and you deserve what you get and you're going to pay for your crime.'"

Pike said detectives told him the suspect is a soldier at Schofield and is being detained in his barracks by the military.

Police have opened a second-degree assault investigation.

The suspect hasn't been arrested, so Hawaii News Now is not releasing his name.

Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call HPD or Crime Stoppers

Meanwhile, the Pikes say their son is showing signs of improvement. Doctors removed his breathing tube on Monday.